THE MANY DEATHS OF COLE PARKER

Characters suffer the torment of loneliness, heartache, and otherworldly beings in this collection of grim short stories.

In the title tale, Cole Parker dies at the hands of a mysterious, tall, gray man. Yet Cole somehow returns to consciousness in an entirely new life that’s both strange and familiar. His wife, Angeline, and her abusive ex-husband, Frank Bannon, are there as well, but though their faces and names haven’t changed, everything else is different. Chillingly, the black-eyed gray man makes his way into this life to kill Cole once again. This begins a seemingly endless cycle of lives for Cole, from an escaped prisoner to a vile, corrupt senator, joined by versions of Angeline and Frank. If Cole can learn who the gray man is, perhaps he can stop him from repeatedly murdering him and return to his original existence with Angeline. Grant’s book also includes five additional stories that are shorter but equally dark. In “The Dead Years,” a man meets Margot Walker, who’s the mirror image of his lost love, Emma Grace. He wants to believe that Margot truly is Emma, but the truth is far more disconcerting. The author, whose work includes TV series, short films, and a comic-book adaptation, has a crisp prose that condenses hefty narratives into short forms. “A Thousand Rooms of Darkness,” for example, concerns Anne Hunnicut and her intense phobia of Halloween; her meticulous backstory gives this fear credibility and enhances the suspenseful tale’s latter half. As with all good horror stories, relatable issues affect the characters here, such as despondency and suicidal urges. But Grant also succeeds at dread-inducing setups. Jack Bennett, in “Static,” is the bodyguard for Laura Cooper, but even he’s shaken by the unexplained staticky calls to a safe house’s private number.

Acute horror tales that are as enthralling as they are outright scary.